This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
slave
[ sleyv ]
/ sleɪv /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
verb (used without object), slaved, slav·ing.
to work like a slave; drudge.
to engage in the slave trade; procure, transport, or sell slaves.
verb (used with object), slaved, slav·ing.
Machinery, Computers. to connect (a device) to a master as its slave.
Archaic. to enslave.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Origin of slave
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sclave (also slave ), from Old French escla(i)ve, and Medieval Latin sclāvus (masculine), sclāva (feminine) “slave,” special use of Sclāvus “Slavic, a Slav, slave” (Latin does not tolerate the consonant cluster sl- and employs the cluster scl- instead); so called because Slavs in Central Europe and the Balkans were commonly enslaved in the early Middle Ages; see origin at Slav
OTHER WORDS FROM slave
slaveless, adjectiveslavelike, adjectivepro·slave, adjectivesem·i·slave, nounWords nearby slave
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use slave in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for slave
slave
/ (sleɪv) /
noun
verb
(intr often foll by away) to work like a slave
(tr) an archaic word for enslave
Word Origin for slave
C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin Sclāvus a Slav, one held in bondage (from the fact that the Slavonic races were frequently conquered in the Middle Ages), from Late Greek Sklabos a Slav
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012